Applying

ICU Graduate School has an admissions system that enrolls students in April (through Autumn Selection and Spring Selection) and September, and the selections are through a document screening of the application documents submitted at the time of application and an interview screening in Japanese and/or English.

Admissions Policy

International Christian University (ICU) has as its principle "to serve God and humankind"; upholds three commitments: international, Christian, and academic; and puts into practice a liberal arts education that crosses academic boundaries.

In accordance with these three commitments, ICU Graduate School (GS) was established with the purpose of further development in both education and research through research in various fields based on academic knowledge cultivated at the undergraduate level. GS is seeking students equipped with independent research and problem-solving skills in addition to specialized knowledge in order to cultivate leaders with a high degree of specialization who will serve as a bridge between Japan and the world based on a bilingual Japanese and English education.

To accept such students, GS has an admissions system that enrolls students in April and September. By closely reviewing application materials submitted in either Japanese or English (document screening) and conducting thorough interviews, GS evaluates and judges applicants' academic qualities, aptitudes, interests, and enthusiasm from multiple angles.

Master's Course

Education and Psychology Program

The Education and Psychology (EP) program asks students to engage with past research and the doings of those who have come before them from all angles; consolidate their own awareness of issues; and think matters through without easily coming to conclusions. EP accepts students who engage in the quest for and application of knowledge in an interdisciplinary manner; maintain a multifaceted point of view; acquire solid and rich specialized knowledge; and have the motivation to contribute to society through creative proposals. This program aims to cultivate students who respect the awareness of issues of various individuals and who spare no effort to complete unique research that only they can conduct.

Public Policy and Social Research Program

In the Public Policy and Social Research (PPSR) program, it is possible to learn research methods and theoretical thinking from a highly international faculty and deepen one's specialized research through stimulating discussions with students from many countries. PPSR is seeking students who confront misunderstandings and prejudices that occur amidst diverse values; who are motivated to challenge themselves to conduct interdisciplinary research based on a global viewpoint; and who try to pursue their specialized research without being constrained by boundaries and while learning from multiple angles. This program offers many courses in English and also aims to improve communication skills using English.

Comparative Culture Program

The Comparative Culture (CC) program is seeking students who can compare and test existing cultural research in diverse fields from a broad point of view and who can independently deepen their learning and research by crossing existing boundaries such as citizenship and culture. CC cultivates people who elevate the learning obtained via the program to a deep understanding of humankind and who fill leadership roles equipped with both foresight regarding the future of humankind and ethics through the unification of a liberal arts spirit and a high level of training in the humanities.

Natural Sciences Program

The Natural Sciences (NS) program actualizes a superior natural science research environment by taking advantage of the characteristics of small group education and through close communication between faculty and students. In addition, by opening the doors to various graduate schools conducting cutting-edge natural science research and providing an optimal research environment through cooperative relationships with universities and research institutes in Japan and abroad, NS enables students to foster specialized abilities as well as practical English abilities. This program is seeking students who do not stop at attainment of specialized knowledge and skills; who acquire a high level of communication skills; and who try to explore paths in the direction of natural science research through involvement with society and with the possibility of making diverse contributions to society.

Doctoral Course

In order to cultivate leaders with an even higher degree of specialization based on a bilingual Japanese and English education, GS's doctoral course is seeking students who are equipped with independent research and problem-solving abilities; independently conduct research as a researcher; have motivation to acquire the rich scholarship that serves as a foundation therefor; actively participate in scholarly activities off campus, such as conferences; and who spare no effort as a researcher.

Admissions Capacity

Master's Course

SchoolProgramArea of ConcentrationAdmission Capacity
School of Arts and SciencesEducation and PsychologyEducation28
Psychology
Language Education
Public Policy andSocial ResearchPolitics and
International Studies
30
Social and Cultural Analysis
Media and Language
Public Economics
Peace Studies
Comparative CultureJapanese Culture Studies17
Transcultural Studies
Natural SciencesMathematics and
Information Science
9
Material Science
Life Science

Doctoral Course

SchoolProgramAdmission Capacity
School of Arts and SciencesArts and Sciences20

Admissions Schedule

Admissions Type

AY2024 April Admission

AY2024 September Admission Selection

Autumn Selection Spring Selection

Application Period

Application Period:
2023/8/8(Tue)10:00(JST)- 8/22(Tue)17:00(JST)

Application Period:
2023/11/15(Wed)10:00(JST) -11/29(Wed) 17:00(JST)

Application Period:
2024/2/21(Wed)10:00(JST) - 3/6(Wed)17:00(JST)

(NOTE) Foreign-national applicants who reside outside Japan can apply only for the autumn selection.

Submission of "Entry Form" and payment of the application fee must be completed within the application period above. Application documents for submission by postal mail must reach ICU Graduate School by the deadline.
After the application is accepted, an email of application completion notice with application number will be sent to the email address registered through "Entry Form".

First Screening (Documentary screening) Result Notification

2023/9/28 (Thu) at 11:00 (JST)

2024/2/1 (Thu) at 11:00 (JST)

2024/4/12 (Fri) at 11:00 (JST)

Applicants for Master's Course Regular Student and Doctoral Course Regular Student:
Application number of applicants who passed the first screening will be posted on "News" page.
Applicants for Master's Course Kenkyusei:
Application number of successful applicants who passed the screening will be posted on "News" page on the date/time of "Admissions Decision Notification" indicated below.

Second Screening (Interview) Schedule

2023/10/3 (Tue)
*Alternate date: 10/7 (Sat)

2024/2/6 (Tue)
*Alternate date: 2/8 (Thu)

2024/4/20 (Sat)
*Alternate date: 4/23 (Tue)

Only applicants who passed the first screening will receive the second screening details such as the reporting time and place through email which will be sent to the email address registered through "Entry Form".
Second screening may be postponed to the designated alternate date under the decision of ICU.

Admissions Decision Notification

2023/10/17(Tue)
AM11:00(JST)

2024/2/20(Tue)
AM11:00(JST)

2024/5/14(Tue)
AM11:00(JST)

On this date/time, application number of successful applicants will be posted on "News" page. Notification of Acceptance and entrance procedures documents will be sent to successful applicants after the announcement of decisions.

Admissions Handbook / Designated Forms

The handbook for applicants applying for Academic Year 2024 ICU Graduate School Admissions is available in PDF. Please click on the link below:

AY2024 Admissions Handbook English

Designated Forms

Download the forms and save them on your desktop before the input.

  1. The form must be submitted in Excel file. Do not convert to PDF or any other file formate.
  2. Use only single byte character for input, unless otherwise instructed.

Note: Use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to fill out the PDF files. Do not use 'Preview' App when using Mac or internet browsers.

About Reasonable Accommodations in Admissions, please check here.

How to Apply

See the following steps for application for ICU Graduate School.

Please make sure to read the Admissions Handbook thoroughly.

【Before Application】

  1. Read "International Christian University Graduate School Admissions Handbook" carefully and check application eligibility and application documents.
  2. Personal computer will be needed since all steps of ICU Graduate School Admissions such as application procedures and results notification will be done through online.

【Order for Transcript and Verification documents】

Request the institutions to issue the following official documents and ask to send directly to ICU Graduate School.

  • Certificate/Verification of Graduation
  • Transcript
  • English Proficiency Documents (TOEIC)
  • Letter of Recommendation
  • Results of GRE and other graduate school admissions standardized tests
  • Letter of Consent of a Faculty to be Research Advisor on Acceptance

Note: Required documents will differ by the course which the applicant desire to apply. Procedure will differ if the institution cannot issue theses documents in English. Please check the "Admissions Handbook" carefully.

【Preparing Application Documents】

  1. Download the "Application Form" and other designated forms from ICU website and fill all items required.
  2. Prepare documents such as reesearch plan, thesis, and other necessary applicalition.
  3. Prepare a portrait photo as specified on the "Admissions Handbook." Must be in jpeg or png file.
  4. Prepare a credit card as specified on the "Admissions Handbook."

【Payment of Application Fee】

Please access to the "Application Fee Payment Website" and make necessary payments with the credit card followed by the instructions on the Website. Commission charge will also be charged per application. After completion of the payment, print out the "Payment Complete" page.

Note: All applicants for Master's Course, Doctoral Course, 5-year Program Students, IB Teacher Advanced Certification Program, and Kenkyusei, must complete the payment for application fee.



【Submitting Application Documents】

Doctoral Course

Applicants who desire to apply for the Doctoral Course must submit their application documents and the required information through the "Entry Form for Regular Students."


Required: Entry Form for Regular Students
Note: Access is valid only during the Application Periods.


Master's Course

Applicants who desire to apply for the Master's Course must submit their application documents and the required information through the "Entry Form for Regular Students."
Applicants who would like to apply for the "ICU Torch Relay Graduate School Scholarship for New Students" must submit the necessary documents from the following online form "Apply for ICU Torch Relay Graduate School Scholarship for New Students."


Optional: Apply for ICU Torch Relay Graduate School Scholarship for New Students
Note: Access is valid only during the Application Periods.


IB Teacher Advanced Certification Program

Applicants who desires to apply for the "IB Teacher Advanced Certification Program" must submit the necessary documents from both of the following two online forms; "Entry Form for Regular Studen" and "Apply for IB Teacher Advanced Certification Program"
Applicants who would like to apply for the "ICU Torch Relay Graduate School Scholarship for New Students" must submit the necessary documents from the following online form "Apply for ICU Torch Relay Graduate School Scholarship for New Students."



Optional: Apply for ICU Torch Relay Graduate School Scholarship for New Students
Note: Access is valid only during the Application Periods.


Kenkyusei

Applicants who desire to apply for the Kenkyusei (non-degree seeker) of Master's Course must submit their application documents and the required information through the "Entry Form for Kenkyusei (non-degree seeker)."


Required: Entry Form for Kenkyusei (non-degree seeker)
Note: Access is valid only during the Application Periods.


About 5-year Program/Rotary Peace Fellow/MEXT scholarship Application



5-year Program Student

ICU offers 5-year Program through which students can obtain the bachelor's degree and master's degree in 5 years.

Please visit this page for application details for 5-year Program Candidates and 5-year Program Students.



Rotary Peace Fellow

You can apply for a Rotary fellowship supported by the Rotary Foundation. Please visit this page for application details.



MEXT Scholarship (Japanese government-funded scholarship)

ICU is accepting the MEXT (Monbukagakusho: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology-Japan) scholars under two categories. Each category sets different application procedure, so please follow the below guidelines and consider applying.

*Scholarship information is subject to change without prior notice. Please inquire to the Graduate School Group for the latest information.

■ MEXT scholarship by embassy recommendation

Applicants should first apply at the Japanese embassy/consulate of your country and pass their screening. Please inquire the relevant Japanese embassy/consulate for the application details.

Scholarships Details: Full scholarship including full tuition and facilities fees and monthly stipend (see the MEXT Application Guidelines for each category to check grant details)

【Status you can apply for】
You can apply for either of the following status under "Research Student" under MEXT definition.

・Master's Course Regular Student at Graduate School-Qualification: Those who obtained (or expect to obtain) a bachelor's degree before enrollment
・Doctoral Course Regular Student at Graduate School- Qualification: Those who obtained (or expect to obtain) a master's degree before enrollment
・Master's Course Kenkyusei at Graduate School - Qualification: Those who obtained(or expect to obtain) a master's degree before enrollment *Students can study at ICU for a maximum of 18 months as kenkyusei. No degree will be conferred.
・Kenkyusei at College of Liberal Arts - Qualification: Those who obtained (or expect to obtain) a bachelor's degree before enrollment.

【Month to enroll in ICU】
April, September of the following year from the time of application (Scholarship term might starts from only October for September entrants)
*Those who are required to take the Japanese language class prior to enrollment to ICU must attend the institute designated by MEXT.

【Application Procedure】

1. Apply for the scholarship at the Japanese embassy/consulates and acquire a passing certificate after their 1st screening (around May-July every year).

2. Before applying to ICU Graduate School, visit the faculty page and see if your desired research field can be pursued at ICU graduate school.

  • Those who apply for a master's course should decide which program and area of concentration you would like to apply for. NO NEED TO ACQUIRE A PRIOR ACCEPTANCE TO BE YOUR ADVISOR FROM OUR FACULTY BEFORE OFFICIAL APPLICATION TO ICU GRADUATE SCHOOL.
  • Those who apply for a doctoral course should contact the faculty member who can supervise the doctoral course (those with "D" mark on the faculty list page) and obtain his/her approval to be an advisor upon acceptance. If you cannot find his/her contact information on our website, please contact Graduate School Group.

3. Send the scanned 'Application documents' listed below in PDF by email to ICU Graduate School Group
*PDF files should be sent separately for each document such as application form, research plan etc. (Please do not send them all in one file.)

4. Fill in the entry form and submit by the designated deadline by MEXT. (Aug)

5. ICU Graduate School conducts the screening. (4 weeks is necessary until the admission decision is made) (Aug - Sep)

6. MEXT conducts the screening. (From Oct - )

7. MEXT announces the screening result and school placement. (Around Feb)


<NOTES>

  • Application after the designated deadline will not be accepted.
  • The admission decision will be made by ICU evaluation committee members.
  • ICU will not be able to receive an application and/or respond to any inquiry during our summer recess. (exact dates will be available on the NEWS page)
  • ICU screening result will be made available by email and/or mail document.

【Application documents】

<Applicants for master's course regular students/kenkyusei and for doctoral course regular students>

1. Passing certificate issued by the Japanese embassy/consulates

2. All the application documents submitted to the Japanese embassy/consulates

① Application form (attach your photo)
② Field of study and research plan
③ Transcript of the last university attended
④ (Expected) Graduation certificate of the last university attended or degree certificate
⑤ Letter of recommendation
⑥ Academic paper (even if applicants did not submit any paper to the embassy/consulates, please submit one to ICU graduate school)
⑦ Japanese or English language proficiency certificate (if applicants have any)

3. Any additional application documents upon request by ICU graduate school

<Applicants for kenkyusei at ICU College of Liberal Arts>
・ Such applicants who wish to enroll in September and write the application documents 1 and 2 in English are required to submit an official document to certify their English language proficiency.

1. Passing certificate issued by the Japanese embassy/consulates
2. All the application documents submitted to the Japanese embassy/consulates

① Application form (attach your photo)
② Field of study and research plan
③ Transcript of the last university attended
④ (Expected) Graduation certificate of the last university attended or degree certificate
⑤ Letter of recommendation
⑥ Academic paper (even if applicants did not submit any paper to the embassy/consulates, please submit one to ICU graduate school)
⑦ English language proficiency certificate (if applicants have any)

3. Letter of recommendation (Required only when applicants did not submit one to the embassy/consulates for the 1st screening)
4. Official documents to certify the applicants English language proficiency **See below notes (Required when applicants did not submit one which meets the minimum score requirement to the embassy/consulates for the 1st screening. The proof of English Proficiency is optional if applicant has completed the entire Bachelor's Program in English, however the letter proves the fact that entire program is conducted only in English from your university might be required.)

**MINIMUM SCORE REQUIREMENT
Official documents to certify the English Language proficiency: IELTS 6.5 / TOEFL 79

**SCORE DELIVERY REQUEST
Request a test center to send the official document including the applicant's score directly to the ICU Graduate School Group. Only the tests taken within 2 years at the time of application are valid. (Check the official website of each language proficiency test to arrange the direct delivery of your score. JLPT: https://www.jlpt.jp/certificate/index.html IELTS: http://www.ielts.org, TOEFL: http://www.toefl.org). As for the test score of EJU, ICU will directly request JASSO to provide ICU with the applicant's score.

・ Such applicants who wish to enroll in April and who write the application documents 1 and 2 in Japanese are required to submit an official document to certify their English or Japanese language proficiency.

1. Passing certificate issued by the Japanese embassy/consulates
2. All the application documents submitted to the Japanese embassy/consulates

① Application form (attach your photo)
② Field of study and research plan
③ Transcript of the last university attended
④ (Expected) Graduation certificate of the last university attended or degree certificate
⑤ Letter of recommendation
⑥ Academic paper (even if applicants did not submit any paper to the embassy/consulates, please submit one to ICU graduate school)
⑦ Japanese or English language proficiency certificate (if applicants have any)

3. Letter of recommendation (only when applicants did not submit one to the embassy/consulates for the 1st screening)
4. Official documents to certify the applicants Japanese or English language proficiency **See below notes (Required only when applicants did not submit one which meets the minimum score requirement to the embassy/consulates for the 1st screening. The proof of English or Japanese Proficiency is optional if applicant has completed the entire Bachelor's Program in English or Japanese, however the letter proves the fact that entire program is conducted only in English or Japanese from your university might be required.)

**MINIMUM SCORE REQUIREMENT
Official documents to certify:
Japanese language proficiency: N2 or above of JLPT or more than 280 points in EJU or
English Language proficiency: IELTS 5.0 / TOEFL 61

**SCORE DELIVERY REQUEST
Request a test center to send the official document including the applicant's score directly to the ICU Graduate School Group. Only the tests taken within 2 years at the time of application are valid. (Check the official website of each language proficiency test to arrange the direct delivery of your score. JLPT: https://www.jlpt.jp/certificate/index.html IELTS: http://www.ielts.org, TOEFL: http://www.toefl.org). As for the test score of EJU, ICU will directly request JASSO to provide ICU with the applicant's score.

■ MEXT scholarship by university recommendation

This scholarship can be applied by the students and alumni of the universities ICU has an international academic exchange agreement with. (See the list of our partner instituions here) Application guidance will be delivered to the partner universities at the end of every year. Please inquire at the international academic exchange department of the universities you are attending or graduated from.

Scholarships Details: Full scholarship including full tuition and facilities fees and monthly stipend (see the MEXT Application Guidelines for each category to check grant details)

【Status you can apply for】
You can apply for either of the following statuses as "Research Student" under MEXT definition.

・Master's Course Regular Student at Graduate School-Qualification: Those who obtained (or expect to obtain) a bachelor's degree before enrollment
・Doctoral Course Regular Student at Graduate School- Qualification: Those who obtained (or expect to obtain) a master's degree before enrollment
・Master's Course Kenkyusei at Graduate School - Qualification: Those who obtained(or expect to obtain) a master's degree before enrollment *Students can study at ICU for a maximum of 18 months as kenkyusei. No degree will be conferred.

【Month to enroll in ICU】
September of the following year from the time of application (Scholarship term might starts from October)

【Application documents】
Prepare the following documents in English or Japanese.

① Application form (attach your photo)
② Field of study and research plan
③ Transcript of the last university attended
④ (Expected) Graduation certificate of the last university attended or degree certificate
⑤ Recommendation letter from the Dean / Division Chair of the home university addressed to the President of ICU.
⑥ Copy of your passport
⑦ Summary of your senior thesis
⑧ English and/or Japanese language proficiency certificate (Standardized test scores such as TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC, Japanese Language Proficiency Test, etc.)
⑨ Any additional documents requested by ICU

Special Provisions for Students Affected by Large-Scale Disaster

ICU has put in place special provisions for students affected by The Great East Japan Earthquake, The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, Disasters Caused by the Heavy Rain Event in July 2018, The 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake, Disasters Caused by Typhoon No. 15 and No. 19 in 2019, The Earthquake in Noto-Hanto in 2024, and who either plan to or wish to enter ICU. For details, please check this page.

Please refer to FAQ page for frequently asked questions about admissions. Contact ICU graduate school group (tel: +81 422 33 3231 Email: gs-adm@icu.ac.jp) should you have any question.

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